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Focus on stochastic thermodynamics

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2016 New J. Phys. 18 020401

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 New J. Phys. 18 (2016) 020401 doi:10.1088/1367-2630/18/2/020401

EDITORIAL

Focus on stochastic thermodynamics

OPEN ACCESS
1 2 3
Christian Van den Broeck , Shin-ichi Sasa and Udo Seifert
PUBLISHED 1
10 February 2016
Hasselt University, B-3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
2
Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606–8502, Japan
3
II. Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Stuttgart, D-70550 Stuttgart, Germany
Original content from this
work may be used under
the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0
licence.
Abstract
Any further distribution of We introduce the thirty papers collected in this ‘focus on’ issue. The contributions explore conceptual
this work must maintain
attribution to the
issues within and around stochastic thermodynamics, use this framework for the theoretical modeling
author(s) and the title of and experimental investigation of specific systems, and provide further perspectives on and for this
the work, journal citation
and DOI. active field.

Over the last ten years, stochastic thermodynamics has evolved into a comprehensive framework for describing
small driven systems using the notions of classical thermodynamics like work, heat and entropy production on
the level of individual fluctuating trajectories as reviewed in [1–4]. The present ‘focus on’ selection reports on the
latest developments and presents new perspectives in the field, both theoretical and experimental. The thirty
articles featured in this collection can roughly be ordered into six, partially overlapping, groups.
One original motivation for developing classical thermodynamics was to understand the laws governing heat
engines and to optimize their performance. Within stochastic thermodynamics, these issues are explored for
micro- and nano-sized engines which has led to new insight valid even for macroscopic engines. Calvo
Hernandez et al discuss the role of a finite cycle-time and the inevitable dissipation coming with it in an approach
that unifies heat engines and refrigerators for which they derive and discuss optimization criteria [5]. For such
cyclic engines, Izumida and Okuda present a phenomenological theory along the lines of linear irreversible
thermodynamics based on a local equilibrium assumption [6]. Sheng and Tu discuss a hidden symmetry and
higher order constitutive relations for tightly coupled heat engines [7]. If a steady-state engine runs only for a
finite time, output and input will be fluctuating quantities leading to the concept of stochastic efficiency that can
be analyzed using a large deviation approach. Gingrich et al investigate the subtleties arising in time-asymmetric
steady-state heat engines [8]. Proesmans and Van den Broeck investigate and illustrate stochastic efficiency with
five case studies including examples of isothermal engines [9].
Molecular motors and, more generally, all cellular and biochemical processes typically run under isothermal
conditions. A paradigmatic motor is the F1-ATPase for which Toyabe and Muneyuki present experimental
results studying the response of single molecules to an external torque [10]. Two theoretical papers deal with the
efficiency of molecular motors. Schmitt et al discuss the interplay between a power-stroke mechanism and
rectification of thermal fluctuations through ATP consumption [11]. Zuckermann et al explore the role of
persistence for creating linear motion without spatial or temporal asymmetry [12]. Copolymerization against an
external force shares some similarities with molecular motors. Gaspard investigates how the force-velocity
relation, entropy production and other quantities depends on the type of polymerization and the presence of
disorder [13]. Lahiri et al study kinetics and thermodynamics of reversible polymerization in closed systems for
two variants, with and without a total conservation law [14]. Hartich et al discuss the analogy between bacterial
sensing and kinetic proofreading that emerges within a stochastic thermodynamics modelling of both
processes [15].
Fluctuation relations provide constraints on the distribution of thermodynamic quantities like work, heat
and entropy production. These results have the status of theorems under well-specified assumptions on initial
states, dynamics and type of driving. It is crucial to explore in experiments how well the theoretical assumptions
are matched in specific realizations as done here in three papers. Gieseler et al study fluctuation relations for a
levitated nano-scale silica sphere in a low density gas parametrically driven by a periodically modulated laser trap
[16]. The fluctuation theorem for entropy production involved in a transition from one steady-state to another is

© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft

New J. Phys. 18 (2016) 020401 C Van den Broeck et al

explored by Granger et al for an RC-circuit [17]. Alemany et al present data and theory on the modification of
fluctuation theorems for partially equilibrated initial states of DNA-hairpins, closing with a perspective on
thermodynamic inference based on partial experimental data [18].
Measurement and subsequent feedback control of a system coupled to a heat bath allows for processes that,
at first sight, seem to violate the second law. If, however, the information gained in the measurement is
integrated into the analysis, the second law is restored. Exploring this interface between thermodynamics and
information theory is a lively topic in stochastic thermodynamics as several contributions in this collection
show. Horowitz and Sandberg discuss the role of various information theoretic measures and how they
correspond to the thermodynamic cost of acquiring information through measurement procedures [19]. Um
et al study a similar issue for a two-level system and explore the efficiency of such an information machine [20].
Shiraishi et al deal with an autonomous information engine for which measurement and feedback are separated
[21]. Bechhoefer discusses the role of measurement errors and feedback using the formalism of hidden Markov
models that leads him to explore a phase transition in an information engine [22].
Many-body systems lead to emergent behaviour which is studied in several papers of this collection.
Imparato investigates driven coupled oscillators that show a dynamical phase transition from a desynchronized
to a synchronized state for which he determines power and efficiency at maximum power for different types of
driving [23]. Sasa shows how the emerging collective dynamics in such systems at the transition can be
determined and interpreted using concepts from stochastic and steady-state thermodynamics [24].
Experimental results for the work distribution of interacting colloidal particles forming a colloidal crystal that is
driven across a commensurate periodic light field are presented by Gomez-Solano et al [25]. Transport in
interacting systems is studied by Becker et al for a boundary driven set-up, for which they show simulations that
support predictions from macroscopic fluctuation theory and the additivity principle [26]. For a driven many-
particle system with zero-range interactions, Asban and Rahav derive an effective non-linear diffusion equation
and discuss the applicability of the no-pumping theorem to such systems [27]. Transport through a double
quantum dot coupled to a quantum point contact is analyzed by Cuetera and Esposito who derive the statistics of
energy and particle currents [28].
Various conceptual and fundamental aspects are discussed in the last group of theoretical papers. Usually,
the bath providing the embedding of the driven system is assumed to be equilibrated. Basu et al study the force
on a probe particle when the whole medium is slighly driven and discuss how such a probe could be used
operationally to measure excess quantities in steady state thermodynamics [29]. For a bath made up of quantum
harmonic oscillators that are coupled to a driven quantum system, Aurell and Eichhorn identify three
contributions to the change of the von Neumann entropy of the bath, two of which seem not to have a classical
correspondence [30]. Typically, fluctuation relations are derived assuming a Hamiltonian or Markovian
dynamics. Dieterich et al discuss such relations for anomalous dynamics based on fractional Fokker-Planck
equations [31]. Ford discusses various measures of thermodynamic irreversibility with a focus on the role of
initially non-symmetric velocity distributions [32]. Ma and Qian revisit the well-known multi-dimensional
Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process as a paradigm of how to derive an emergent macroscopic description of a complex
stochastic dynamics from its mesoscopic law of motion [33]. Last, but certainly not least, Knoch and Speck
present a general new method of how to coarse-grain, or renormalize, Markov networks for systems driven into
a steady state such that the entropy production of the original network remains preserved [34].
In conclusion, this collection shows on the one hand that stochastic thermodynamics has by now been well
established as a useful framework for analyzing a large variety of non-equilibrium systems. On the other hand,
there is still progress on exploring its conceptual foundations and extending its range of applicability towards
neighboring fields. We hope that by browsing through this collection and by reading selected contributions,
researchers from different communities get motivated to contribute to these activities with their expertise of
concepts or of specific systems.

References
[1] Sekimoto K 2010 Stochastic Energetics (Berlin: Springer)
[2] Jarzynski C 2011 Ann. Rev. Cond. Mat. Phys. 2 329–51
[3] Seifert U 2012 Rep. Prog. Phys. 75 126001
[4] Van den Broeck C and Esposito M 2015 Physica A 418 6–16
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[6] Izumida Y and Okuda K 2015 New J. Phys. 17 085011
[7] Sheng S Q and Tu Z C 2015 New J. Phys. 17 045013
[8] Gingrich T R, Rotskoff G M, Vaikuntanathan S and Geissler P L 2014 New J. Phys. 16 102003
[9] Proesmans K and Van den Broeck C 2015 New J. Phys. 17 065004
[10] Toyabe S and Muneyuki E 2015 New J. Phys. 17 015008
[11] Schmitt R K, Parrondo J M R, Linke H and Johansson J 2015 New J. Phys. 17 065011
[12] Zuckermann M J, Angstmann C N, Schmitt R, Blab G A, Bromley E H, Forde N R, Linke H and Curmi P M 2015 New J. Phys. 17 055017

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New J. Phys. 18 (2016) 020401 C Van den Broeck et al

[13] Gaspard P 2015 New J. Phys. 17 045016

[14] Lahiri S, Wang Y, Esposito M and Lacoste D 2015 New J. Phys. 17 085008
[15] Hartich D, Barato A C and Seifert U 2015 New J. Phys. 17 055026
[16] Gieseler J, Novotny L, Moritz C and Dellago C 2015 New J. Phys. 17 045011
[17] Granger L, Mehlis J, Roldán É, Ciliberto S and Kantz H 2015 New J. Phys. 17 065005
[18] Alemany A, Ribezzi-Crivellari M and Ritort F 2015 New J. Phys. 17 075009
[19] Horowitz J M and Sandberg H 2014 New J. Phys. 16 125007
[20] Um J, Hinrichsen H, Kwon C and Park H 2015 New J. Phys. 17 085001
[21] Shiraishi N, Ito S, Kawaguchi K and Sagawa T 2015 New J. Phys. 17 045012
[22] Bechhoefer J 2015 New J. Phys. 17 075003
[23] Imparato A 2015 New J. Phys. 17 125004
[24] Sasa S 2015 New J. Phys. 17 045024
[25] Gomez-Solano J R, July C, Mehl J and Bechinger C 2015 New J. Phys. 17 045026
[26] Becker T, Nelissen K and Cleuren B 2015 New J. Phys. 17 055023
[27] Asban S and Rahav S 2015 New J. Phys. 17 055015
[28] Cuetara G B and Esposito M 2015 New J. Phys. 17 095005
[29] Basu U, Maes C and Netočný K 2015 New J. Phys. 17 115006
[30] Aurell E and Eichhorn R 2015 New J. Phys. 17 065007
[31] Dieterich P, Klages R and Chechkin A V 2015 New J. Phys. 17 075004
[32] Ford I J 2015 New J. Phys. 17 075017
[33] Ma Y A and Qian H 2015 New J. Phys. 17 065013
[34] Knoch F and Speck T 2015 New J. Phys. 17 115004